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Your tax documents–what to keep and shred

Whether you use old-fashioned manila filing folders, a flash drive or cloud storage, tax and personal finance authorities agree on the importance of saving tax documents and records. In addition to using the information for preparing your next income tax return, it may come in handy years from now.

"Your tax data is helpful and often required in many non-tax financial situations," says TaxAct spokesperson Jessi Dolmage. "For instance, insurance companies, lenders and creditors often use tax information to verify income and asset value. Form W-2s can provide proof of income if your Social Security benefits are less than what they should be."

Information to save for your next tax return

Organizing and saving information throughout the year will cut tax return preparation time and can even save you money. Save any information related to:

While you don't need a fancy or high-tech organizing system, you do need to keep the information in a secure place. Consider saving electronic copies to the cloud or on a backup storage device in addition to, or in place of, your paper files.

"One of the key advantages of going digital is that your tax information is better protected from natural disasters," says Dolmage. "Saving electronically also means you can access the information anywhere from a mobile device."

Apps and websites make digitizing documents easy. TaxAct DocVault is a free mobile app and website specifically designed to create and save secure, digital copies of tax documents. At tax time, import DocVault images into TaxAct to save with your return.

What to keep after filing your taxes and how long

Knowing what information to save and for how long can be confusing. As a general rule of thumb, keep tax returns and related documents for at least three years from the April 15 filing deadline.

Three years: Tax return forms and schedules plus all information to support what you claimed on your return, especially records related to property, investments, or business assets (for depreciation). While there are exceptions, the IRS has 3 years to assess additional tax and audit returns. Three years is also the amount of time you have to amend your return.

Four years: Many income-taxing states have an additional year to audit individual returns.

Six years: Forms W-2, 1099, etc. because the IRS has six years to contact you if you've failed to report income.

Certain documents should be saved longer. "Information related to your home, property, investments and retirement plans should be kept indefinitely," says Dolmage. "If you dispose of an asset, be sure to keep the information for another three years."

Business owners should keep tax information for at least four years. That includes employment records, gross receipts, invoices, bank statements, proofs of purchase, asset records, databases, emails and even voicemails.

Refer to IRS Publication 552 at www.irs.gov for more information about tax recordkeeping, Publications 583 and 463 provide specific information for businesses. Visit www.TaxAct.com/apps to download TaxAct DocVault for free.

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Upcoming Tax Dates

August 1 — Form 720 taxes
File Form 720 for the second quarter of 2016.

August 1 — Wagering tax
File Form 730 and pay the tax on wagers accepted during June.

August 1 — Social security, Medicare, and withheld income tax
File Form 941 for the second quarter of 2016. Deposit or pay any undeposited tax under the accuracy of deposit rules.

August 1 — Certain small employers
Deposit any undeposited tax if your tax liability is $2,500 or more for 2016 but less than $2,500 for the second quarter.

August 1 — Federal unemployment tax
Deposit the tax owed through June if more than $500.

August 1 — All employers
If you maintain an employee benefit plan, such as a pension, profitsharing, or stock bonus plan, file Form 5500 or 5500EZ for calendar year 2015. If you use a fiscal year as your plan year, file the form by the last day of the seventh month after the plan year ends.

August 10 — Employees who work for tips
If you received $20 or more in tips during July, report them to your employer
Details

August 10 — Social security, Medicare, and withheld income tax
File Form 941 for the second quarter of 2017. This due date applies only if you deposited the tax for the quarter timely, properly, and in full.

August 10 — Communications and air transportation taxes under the alternative method.
Deposit the tax included in amounts billed or tickets sold during the first 15 days of July.

August 12 — Regular method taxes
Deposit the tax for the last 16 days of July.

August 15 — Social security, Medicare, and withheld income tax
If the monthly deposit rule applies, deposit the tax for payments in July.

August 15 — Nonpayroll withholding
If the monthly deposit rule applies, deposit the tax for payments in July.

August 25 — Communications and air transportation taxes under the alternative method.
Deposit the tax included in amounts billed or tickets sold during the last 16 days of July.

August 29 — Regular method taxes
Deposit the tax for the first 15 days of August.

August 31 — Wagering tax
File Form 730 and pay the tax on wagers accepted during July.